Fictional Experience
by VermilionGoddess
Summary: Who knew finding a manuscript in Urahara's shop would cause Ichigo to wonder if an old relationship has altered without his notice. For better or worse his perspective has changed and its turning into its own misadventure.
1. Fictional Experience

**Fictional Experience**

It was just another day in Karakura Town. A rather warm one in all truth as summer had come to pass which was long overdue in just about everyone's opinion after the Winter War. Still it was behind them leaving its respective scars on them all, but life went on and so did they. It helped that those still residing in the town found a sense of comfort together, a new bond had formed after the war between them all. Despite these new ties on the surface things still looked the same. Rukia would still berate Ichigo and take markers to him if he dared speak against her artistic genius, Renji and Uryuu still argued like a married couple, and Urahara was still just as meddling as he ever was, crazy (also read sinfully ugly) hat and all. It was under that things could be read if you had been among them long enough. The coaxing of those endeared to stop looking back and turn their mind to the present, though some may have had a less than gentle means of making said kind gestures known.

But today Ichigo was alone, he didn't want to volunteer to go along with the rest of his friends on their beach trip. Thankfully he had been able to back out at the last moment with a quick, helpful white lie from Urahara. So he was stuck moving boxes for a few hours, or doing some kind of chore, it certainly beat avoiding being drowned by an over eager Rukia and a bastard, stuck-up Quincy. Not that he didn't appreciate his friends it was just their behavior that drove him up the wall. Honest.

Yet he was walking into the shop, in t-shirt and jeans, not shorts, looking around for any sign of any of its occupants. When not even Jinta poked his head out of somewhere to nag him for being late, which he wasn't, he figured they were busy. Not like they minded him around, Ichigo pretty regularly spent time at Urahara's so no one questioned it if he popped in. Heck they usually didn't even kick up a fuss if he spent the night. As a semi-regular guest, or occupant, they even could work him into their normal schedule which in a weird way he found he liked. It was weird to think that he could get ready with Ururu and Jinta on a school morning without making any of them late, or that if he stayed for dinner his spot between Urahara and Ururu was always left open for him. Jinta and he could talk about sports on occasion, even Tessai would join in on that which had originally surprised him. All in all the only Kurosaki son figured this wasn't a bad place for him to fit in. They didn't bug him when he was brooding, they didn't suffocate him when he would march in unannounced and head straight for the basement, and they didn't hesitate to ignore his usual floundering in any emotional situation. How many times had Ururu just plopped right up against his side when he was feeling a bit down and sat quietly with something to occupy herself? More than he could count. Even Jinta might smack him if he thought too much but the hits never really hurt and he never hit his face. Heck they'd even blatantly lied and told his family he wasn't around when he needed space. Tessai knew his favorite foods, which kind of freaked him out since he'd never said anything, and always remembered to try and include Ichigo when he was around. Urahara though was the odd one, he would just nod and smile to him most often. They had a more silent understanding between them but whenever Ichigo would nod off somewhere or end up hurt, more often than not he was fairly sure the one to deal with it was Urahara himself. They had an odd dynamic, but it was strangely comfortable.

Which might have been why Ichigo didn't think anything of slipping his shoes off at the door and heading straight in. No greeting was weird since there were always at least two people around usually, or more given who owned the place. Yet the quiet was not an unwelcome change of pace. Yet the redhead poked his head in and around just to check but against didn't spot a single soul. While confused he figured he could just wait and went to go take a seat to bide his time, not like he had anything better to do.

Settling in he was a bit surprised when he bumped something on the floor beside the cushion. With a faint frown he lifted up what appeared to be a somewhat thick packet of paper. Well over a hundred or so papers it was thick enough that it had some weight to it. Curious he took a look at the front, because he knew if it was order business or research Urahara would want it obviously, but instead the cover was blank. That didn't answer anything so he flipped in a few pages to see what was written if anything at all. Opened to a random page he found out there was something written, and quite a bit of it. Frowning faintly he noted it seemed to be almost like a novel, if a bland one since nothing of interest was happening in the few quick lines he'd read. It wasn't until he flipped a few more pages that he found himself seeing a bit more clearly just what he'd picked up.

_"You were expecting someone else? If that's the case I could always leave."_

_"I wasn't, you just...snuck up on me you bastard." The redhead muttered in a distinctly displeased tone, bottom lip gutting out in what one would call a pout. Or that would be inclined to unless they knew of the man's rather irate personality and incendiary reaction to jibes to his masculinity, real or imagined. Still those displeased lines on his expression did not remain once his older companion began to slide those pale hands of his under the younger's temptingly snug shirt. While one wouldn't say they melted away they did ease and even further when a soft apology was mouthed against a tanned throat. "S-stop that!"_

_The older of the pair just chuckled and repeated the gesture when he replied to the half-hearted demand at best. "You don't really want me to or you'd be using those hands of yours to take me off of you. I do know you better than that." _

_At the words tan hands were trying to pull those pale hands away to falter when that man's annoying mouth closed over his throat, with a faint play of teeth and tongue that left the protest dying in his throat. It became all too tempting for Daniel to put up much more fight, so the redhead just did his best to scowl as his eyes became lidded at the attention the older man paid continued to trail down along the column of his-_

Blinking a handful of times Ichigo just stared down at the open page wondering what he'd just read. When it sank in his cheeks began to flush and he was caught in place, otherwise he would have thrown it clear across the room. Not that it was that racy but still it wasn't something he wanted to read about. It wasn't even well written either! All the same teen hadn't tossed the piece of fiction aside and instead found himself more curious than he was willing to admit. Wasn't everyday you found something this kind of scandalous in the shop. Urahara was usually pretty careful about that with the kids around. That was what he told himself he was keeping a hold of it for, after all he wasn't still mildly curious or anything. Who wanted to read a book about a couple of guys getting it on?

_The warm, solid weight behind him was comforting, made more so by the firm hold the bare arms around his waist had. While Daniel wasn't about to admit it aloud there was always something appealing about being in such a position, the lack of vulnerability where he should have felt infinitely more exposed. Or perhaps he did feel the openess as a discomfort but the soft, warm puffing breath against his shoulder was just that distracting. It became a non-issue when the others pale hands were working on unfastening his belt._

_"You still wear such tight clothing."_

_"Shut up." It was a grumbling protest, eyes shyly ducking away._

_"But I highly approve, makes for such stimulating thought." Johnathan knew he was walking a thin line with such teasing in these moments but the flush they induced was all too tempting to forgo them. It surprised him sometimes how innocent the other could act even after so long now. Invoking that boyish blush was his favorite hobby and would likely remain so. "Look at you. Still so innocent aren't you my de-" But it seemed that his dear lover had enough of his mouth producing words and thought it could be put to better use, or so the tanned hand forcing his head down said. Fingers tightly wound in pale blond hair bringing him down to the demanding, pouting mouth. Not that Johnathan had any protests and quite willingly pursued better use of his mouth, but he had been enjoying the reaction to his well-meaning teasing. But when he thought about it it wasn't only his mouth that could be put to far better use, so his hands resumed their work of divesting the heated redhead out of what was left of his clothes. _

Ichigo had been ready to go to the next page when he felt something against his shoulder that made him jump nearly a foot into the air. An iron grip held him down though, keeping the teen from going too far and a low chuckle reached him, as the warm breath against his shoulder made him shudder.

"Ah I didn't mean to startle you Kurosaki-kun, but in all fairness I did call your name a few times."

"U-Urahara?" Brown eyes wide he looked back at the man who wore a lazy smile on his unshaven face.

"You were expecting someone else?" When those words passed the shopkeeper's lips for some reason Ichigo felt a hot flush go down from his chest to his toes and then up from his neck. It resulted in him sputtering faintly and leaning away as the blond man tried to determine what was going on. Yet he never got the chance as the teen wormed away and ran about as fast as he legs would carry him.

It was only when he got home that Ichigo realized he'd taken the story with him, clutching it the whole way.

Meanwhile Urahara could only wonder what in the world had made his former student react so violently to his appearance. That and he wondered where that manuscript he'd written had gone.


	2. Fatherly Duty

**Fatherly Duty**

While one would hardly call Isshin Kurosaki father of the year he was still a father. His actions, or inaction, would win him no awards for best father and he did regret it in some cases but in others he knew there was nothing to be done now so he stopped worrying about it. The past was the past after all and he'd learned long ago that abusing yourself over it led to nothing good. Not that it prevented him from going and making the same mistakes all over again, even he wasn't that stupid.

That was what led Isshin to where he was at that very moment and despite his years of experience, more than his physical body could boast, he was entirely clueless. Not even the war could have prepared him for the find he had stumbled upon while catching up on his son's recent activities. Like any good father he was snooping around his teenage son's room with the well meaning intention of checking for things of the illegal, or immoral, nature. No tobacco to be seen, not a drop of alcohol and not a single dirty magazine. By now at the age of seventeen he was sort of hoping to find something, but it had come up an fruitless search once more like so many times before. At least that had been his impression until he'd looked in Ichigo's desk drawers.

Stuffed under a pile of old reports, which he had no clue as to why his son was keeping them, he'd found something he'd never had imagined, a dirty novel! Not a single skin magazine but a book and in a way Isshin wasn't surprised. His son was generally a little skiddish about the whole lack of clothing thing concerning women so maybe something written fit better. It was more the content, because he was a curious, that had given him pause. Again when he thought about it it made sense. So his son was of that persuasion. It would explain the lack of girlfriend despite his small gathering of more than willing friends hoping he'd take notice. There was small salvation in that idea because it worried him to think his boy could be that clueless, yet somehow he had a feeling that was still very much part of it. The novel, if it could be called that with the lack of binding, was very much about two men in an odd romantic entanglement where the younger man had a disapproving family. Really it was a bit cliche in all truth but still entertaining. The sex scenes were rather interesting, and Isshin would bet his favorite shirt that whoever wrote it had a thing about public sex given some of the places the fictional pair decided to get it on.

It was a surprise but in a strange way it made him pleased to see his son was still relatively normal in the face of all the insanity in his life. That was his initial reaction though when he stopped to think a little more other questions began to surface. One of which was why in the world was this not a real book? It seemed like it was written and printed out by a computer. Was unprofessional which led him to wonder where his son had gotten it. It was as those thoughts developed that Isshin suddenly had the strangest revelation. What if his son had written this? Initially his mind scoffed at the idea. His pure little boy writing a piece of smut? With how flustered he got just from someone walking in on him changing it seemed unlikely but wasn't that how one of the character, Daniel he thought, acted? This new train of thought was concerning to say the least.

So what if Ichigo had written it? It was fictional and harmless. Everyone found ways to express various parts of themselves and this was no different. So did that mean his son was a little on the kinky side given the content of this tale? Or would it be more kinky since there seemed to be a little self insertion going on too? Perhaps it was subconscious that the character had turned out to be so like Ichigo, still so many traits were so similar it was hard to imagine it being nothing more than a coincidence.

Isshin shook his head and decided to move on from that before he was going to have a hard time looking his son in the face because that wasn't something he needed. Moving on he contemplated over the other character. After all if that Daniel was modeled after Ichigo then perhaps his counterpart was someone his son had feelings for. Oh this was getting kind of juicy now. It was worth pondering about if he could somehow manage to make his son happy. So to work with this analysis!

The older of the men in the story had been called Johnathan or something like that, maybe Jordan. A quick check told him his first guess was correct. So John, what was with all these English names anyhow, was getting his own mental check-list in the clinic owner's brain. John was blond, pale, tall and on the perverted side from what he'd read. That wasn't terribly much to go on though blonds were a little rare in Japan, most coming from a bottle. Based on the account in the book if it was based on a person they were a natural too. That made him snicker a bit. Okay so blond and older. Who did his son know like that? Shinji Hirako came to mind first. Well that fit well enough but somehow he saw Ichigo running him through before even thinking about letting him within the range to do anything intimate. That could be sexual tension though, or something like that he mused while rubbing at his unshaven chin. All in all he was going to say no to it being Shinji. There was that nice boy from Soul Society. What was his name again? Kanada? Kindo? Kida? Something like the last one. He was on the mousy side if he recalled right though and somehow that didn't fit his son's requirements, or the ones he envisioned Ichigo would have. Still the boy did have a habit of protecting others so it could be worth a shot. Mousy-Officer was kept on the list of possibilities. Only other blond that came to mind was Urahara and that made him chuckle faintly aloud. No way could it be Kisuke, Ichigo would kick his balls up into his sternum and tell him to find a ditch and die. So that left one option thus far. But what if it was someone Isshin didn't know? Maybe one of his classmates. This required further investigation and some help. The doctor knew just who he was going to recruit too!

It took a minute for him to decide but he stored the pages of illicit content back where he'd found them and only wrote out a few notes from it to take with him. Wouldn't do to have his son know he knew because somehow that would make his investigation even more difficult. It was time to go and play detective, but he needed a Watson first so he was off to go get himself one. Every great detective needed back-up, plus he kind of wanted an audience too. Much more entertaining to have company and never let it be said Isshin was lacking in the entertainment department.

* * *

Ryuuken Ishida liked to do things his way and his way involved structure. If things were to be done they were to be done his way, the correct way where little to no energy was spent pointlessly. When someone ran a hospital it was important to have the ability to categorize and prioritize, a trait he was rather proud of and he tried to instill within his staff. Yet people he had learned long ago had an amazing capacity to be stupid quite frankly. Thus his workplace was not ideal or peaceful, hospitals seldom were. Yet when he returned from the budget meeting for the month and found his secretary trying very hard to become one with her chair to avoid the blabbering idiot that was his former-roommate in medical school he had to stop and count back from ten. Homicide was a crime but they could only prosecute him if they found the body, or rather they could only convict him with it.

"And they're getting so big now! Speaking of big my oldest one is starting to get a little rowdy if you know what I mean."

How he didn't let his hand dig into his pocket to retrieve his cross to shoot the idiot was a true example of his patient nature, it really was. Didn't stop him from imagining it. It wasn't nearly as gratifying a thought as he'd hoped however.

"If you would stop harassing my staff Kurosaki I would appreciate." Ryuuken managed to get out in the most disinterested tone he could manage, which fell just short of stepping over a fallen body. That was the attempt at least. Already he was going over to retrieve his messages from the woman behind the desk who looked like if for that moment she might actually hug him for saving her from the raving lunacy that was Isshin Kurosaki. "I thought I told the security to shoot you on sight, shame they can't manage it."

"Ryuu-kun, you're still charming as ever." Isshin just chuckled at the cold threats, used to them by now. Hell he was used to the arrows nearly destroying some body part so this was nothing.

Ignoring the statement with notes in hand the Quincy was headed into his office with word to the brunette woman to not disturb him without good reason. He'd had every intention of slamming his office door in Isshin's face but before he could do as much large, and he'd wager dirty hands, were shoving him into the more private setting. Glancing back, eyes narrowed in irritation that would send lesser men at least a few paces back his not-friend was already taking a seat in front of his desk. Why was he graced with the unfortunate curse of being surrounded by idiots?

"What do you want?" The only reason he asked was to be rid of this headache all the sooner.

Pouting, yes pouting, Isshin tried to look as wounded as possible. "Not nice to be so snappy with friends Ryuuken."

Twitching at the use of his given name, and trying to make it as subtle as possible, the saner of the pair took the seat behind the desk. With a disinterested air still hoping to discourage his visitor he went about business. Checking his e-mail and setting the files he had with him on his desk. "We are not friends, so I have told you many times Kurosaki."

"You always say that but you never do shoot me."

"I take pity on your children but maybe I would be doing them a favor."

Laughing Isshin leant back in his seat, pushing it back enough so he could comfortably rest his feet up on the Quincy's desk he ignored the sudden glare for his action. "I wanted to actually ask you for your thoughts on something."

Even Ryuuken paused at that. It was new for the most part and made his glare lessen only marginally. "Then spit it out so I can get rid of you."

"It's a delicate matter."

"Then you should trample it all the sooner to make it less painful for you lack of any subtly or social grace." The laughter to his statement was no surprise.

"Not all of us and be socially over educated like yourself, or uptight enough to make a diamond out of coal by shoving a piece up-"

"Get to the point before I do shoot you."

Isshin just snickered at the proverbial bristling of the others hair. "Gotcha!" Still the more relaxed of the pair took the moment to ponder just how to explain all of this to the other without indeed getting shot. Quincy were an uptight bunch and if you pressed the wrong way he knew very well what happened. Knew a little too well.

Withholding his very obvious comment that since he was silent he did not Ryuuken glanced away from his monitor to actually see the other man thinking and paused for the second time in the past ten minutes. Was he thinking about it? That was never a good sign and actually made him wonder if this wasn't somewhat important after all. For all their bickering Isshin was one of the very, very few he still saw on a basis that didn't have entirely to do with business or some kind of obligation to meet. Mostly it did involve Kurosaki being an idiot and being friendly but sometimes it was a welcome change from his less than calm life style, not to say he approved nor appreciated the fool butting into his time. It was just different.

"You're a clever guy so I was thinking that maybe you could figure it out because I'm a little stumped myself on it."

Now Ryuuken was beginning to think worrying might be called for. Isshin had been thinking about something and was now looking for help? "What on earth did you do now?"

"Hey I resent that accusation." Pouting again the other huffed, leaning further into the back of his chair and closed his eyes. Made him miss the roll of blue eyes entirely at his childish behavior. "I found something in Ichigo's room and I'm not so sure what to make of it."

Maybe the idiot had finally lost his mind if he was coming to him, Ryuuken Ishida, the father fuck-up of all time for advice on his son. Then again how could one lose something they never possessed. Yet he bit his tongue to see what it entailed not bothering to encourage Isshin to share what was already coming whether or not he wanted to hear it. Kurosaki always did have that amazing skill of selective hearing, particularly when others attempted to discourage him from something or other.

"I found a dirty book in his room." The blunt approach won out because really the Kurosaki father couldn't think of a tactful way to go about talking about smut. Hey he wasn't that skilled. Was worth it though when he heard Ryuuken choke.

"And you want me to do what? Give him the talk?"

Part of him wanted to pull his leg and say yes just to see the look on his face but he shook his head. Isshin wasn't a mean guy. "No, think you'd kill him."

"Entirely possible."

Shooting a look at the Quincy he shook his head before closing his eyes once more. "Nah curious what you thought of it all because it was sort of weird. Mean it wasn't like a magazine or some weird romance novel. Like he'd printed it out from somewhere."

That gave the pale haired man pause. So he wanted some analytical help, well that he could do. "Perhaps he did just that." Already he was going to multitasking, working on response to some of his mail while he conversed because he refused to stop and bend to Kurosaki's whims. "There is certainly enough of that floating around out there to find."

Isshin had to agree with that, hadn't really considered as much either. "Yeah I guess, but it was were more out there that one of the guys in it was sort of the spitting image of Ichigo."

Ryuuken actually looked up from his work at that, sporting an incredulous expression. "You're joking right?"

Shaking his head he didn't see the problem so much. People used self insertion all the time to fulfill fantasies. "Nope. Figured it might be some kind of weird escape thing for him. He's pretty reserved even at his age still. Mean it doesn't bother me if it is, actually kind of a healthy thing to do just didn't see it coming is all."

How someone could see that coming worried Ishida. "Hn. It could be worse. How bad was it." Though he mused over what he said earlier. One of the guys inferred there was indeed more than one. "Wait...you said one of them was like your son. There were more I take it?"

Nodding and giving a faint hum Isshin confirmed as much. "Mm. Other one opposite him was sort of familiar. Though maybe if Ichigo wrote it it could be someone he's got the hots for."

"And you were planning to do what? Play matchmaker?"

"Maybe."

"Are you a complete fool?"

"I'm not sure if that rhetorical or not..."

Snorting and rubbing at his forehead Ryuuken glanced past his palm. "You do realize that there are some other rather disturbing options yes?"

"Nope, why I came to you so, spill already Ishida."

The use of his surname did mean he wanted to know so he decided it was best to humor him. "Well you said one reminded you of Ichigo. What if he didn't write it but found it and noticed the similarity as well? It's possible someone used your son as model for the character and it may have spooked the boy."

That was indeed one option that hadn't come to Isshin and had him tensing. Someone would need to know Ichigo to do that, and fairly well because there had been some rather minute details that had fit his son.

"Also entirely possible it's nothing more than some insane coincidence which with this group does happen at an alarmingly unrealistic rate." Ryuuken added at the others obvious distress over the possibility his son may have something like a stalker. "There are a number of options. You are best off just asking Ichigo about it."

Isshin sat up straight, feet coming down from the desk as he frowned in thought. That was probably true. "He's not going to tell me anything."

"Probably not but anything else you can just consider nothing less of an assumption with what you know so far."

Ah there was a good reason for him to have come with Ishida to talk this out, he was a smart cold-hearted bastard. "So what do you think I should do? Given he's not likely to do anything but sputter and run off."

Ryuuken gave it a moment to ponder, tapping his pen against the surface of the desk. Really there weren't many good, logical options. Isshin was invested given who it involved and it was obvious that it bothered him. His fatherly instincts would involve being aggressive but this was unfortunately a somewhat delicate matter. Made Isshin's brutal policies ineffective and more trouble in the long-run but circling and being patient never had been his former-roommate's strong suit.

Only one answer came to mind so he shared it. "I'd wait and observe for now. You make something out of nothing it'll just be a headache."

"Yeah..I guess." It was a rather unenthusiastic response, reluctantly accepting the obvious reasonably train of thought. Isshin sighed and hauled himself up feeling less than pleased, no longer having the odd giddy thrill that something might be looking up. No he was worried but he was a bit glad that Ryuuken had shared the possibility someone might be taking negative actions concerning his son, was better to be prepared. "Thanks."

"Hn. Now get the hell out Kurosaki." Was all he muttered before going back to work, wondering why in the hell hours later it all came back to him later. Kurosaki's problems were his own after all but somehow he just had a nagging feeling about it all. He'd been involved already and knowing his luck, or lack of it, he was going to end up pulled in deeper. Why in the hell hadn't he just thrown Isshin out when he showed up? Misfortune had appeared on his doorstep and he'd encouraged it. Maybe that was why he had a growing senes of dread because Isshin never did actually follow the advice given to him. Idiot got emotional and everything snowballed. Yes if that fool appeared again he was kicking him out, literally because frankly Uryuu was more than enough of a headache for him he didn't need another broody teen on his radar. He was too old for these things, he thought with a heavy sigh before getting back to work.


	3. Father to Son

**Father to Son**

Not for the first time he wondered just why he was here. For one he had no reason to be, unless you counted the whole blood-relation issue which was a bit moot these days, and secondly he hardly thought any good would come of it. Yet here he was standing outside the door to his son's apartment not certain if he wanted to knock to make his presence known or leave while he still had the chance to. So far he'd raised his hand twice and drawn it back to his side while he considered the points of the proverbial argument between his equally proverbial little angel and little devil. It was a comic sight, even if imagined because it's not as if that was even possible, and it didn't suit the image the older Quincy presented. So far the pair were doing nothing but to glare at one another from opposite sides which was largely unhelpful to him. Spending time with Isshin never did his mind any good and this was proof.

Raising his hand a third time, ignoring the uncomfortable heat and damp feel of it from having been stuffed into his suit jacket's pocket, he found himself hesitating again. Thank god no one could see this because it was undignified.

"Ya gonna stand outside all day?"

The rough, unfamiliar voice startled him and being the prideful man he was he merely glanced and glared hard. He saw a redheaded man, or boy because he scarcely looked even twenty to his eyes. Familiar in a faintly annoying way, he must have heard of him from someone. When it hit him, my he was distracted today, his eyes narrowed further behind his glasses. Uryuu was associating with shinigami, oh lovely.

"Well knock already. He ought to be home."

"What business do you have with him?"

"Could ask the same of ya. Mean he and I are friends. I don't know who the hell you are."

Snorting to himself at the statement he bit back the urge to chide his son whom wasn't even able to bare witness to it. Of course the shingiami didn't know who he was. Uryuu wouldn't speak of him unless he absolutely had to, yet it still stung in a strange way that a shinigami was permitted to remain closer to his son than he himself was.

"I know you can talk so ya gonna tell me or do I have to knock around you?"

"I am...an acquaintance of his." This was painfully awkward. "I was here to see if he had any information on a mutual acquaintance between us."

The redhead looked a bit amused and nodded. "Ah right."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ryuuken nearly had to bite his tongue to withhold referring to the other as shinigami. He didn't want to give away that he knew, however, just what the man was.

"Sorry, sorry. Don't mean anything by it but you talk like him is all. Kinda funny."

Now that he hadn't seen coming and it left him feeling unbalanced, with nothing to reply with. Uryuu was like him in what sense? He was scarcely so headstrong and foolish as that boy. The teen had no respect for him without cause and ignored him in all sense unless it was to his benefit to bother with his own father. He had his reason for being angry with his father but he didn't see how it was right for his own boy to have taken on such a rebellious attitude toward him. What had he done short of try to look after his interests? No he had not tried to fill his head with chivalrous nonsense like Souken. He had wanted his boy safe not prancing after hollows when shinigami ought to be cleaning up their own messes, as it was their job to see to such things.

In his own thoughts he was drawn back to the moment when the shinigami reached around him to indeed knock at the door. Startled Ryuuken was rather tempted to try and make a break for it. That would be like admitting defeat, so the man stubbornly stayed put.

"You could have asked me to, it is far more polite."

Shaking his head the shinigami just chuckled. "You were thinkin' didn't want to interrupt in case it was important."

How angry would his son get if he maimed one of his friends? Rather he'd wager so he gritted his teeth, glaring at the younger looking man from the corner of his eye. Really youth were so annoyingly tempered these days. Then again he couldn't say he knew how old this one was but he behaved rather young in the Quincy's opinion.

Then the door opened he was somewhat surprised to see the amusement in his son's expression, oddly open for the boy he knew who closed off so fully in his presence. Still he did not get to see the weak smile on his face for long. As soon as Uryuu saw who was on his doorstep those eyes had narrowed and his lips tilted into a frown.

"What are you doing here?"

The shinigami looked a bit surprised at that and looked between the pair before his mouth opened once more. "You're...related..."

"Brilliant observation." Uryuu muttered drily and stepped back to let the pair in despite his rigid posture. "Come in lest you look like a fool standing on my step."

Ryuuken complied only when he felt the shinigami pushing him in to the unwelcoming territory. It was as he was slipping his own shoes off that he noted that he was the most uncomfortable one at the moment, which did make sense. The shinigami seemed entirely comfortable here though and even made a bit of a show of taking off his sandals as if in exasperation to an unstated demand. It was oddly domestic to the doctor and he found himself glancing at his son who for a short moment looked amused again. So the pair were indeed friendly. It stung in a way but in another it relieved the man that his son was not some hermit, not so isolated as he himself was because he didn't wish his son to feel some of the intense loneliness that he himself did.

His own shoes set aside he was surprised to see the shinigami go to make himself comfortable like he belonged here. What in the world? That seemed a bit impolite to him but he didn't think the ape would have much in the name of manners. Even if he did the commonly decent thing of ridding himself of his shoes when entering. How many times had he scolded Urahara and Isshin about that? Many. Then there was the whole entering through windows. Lord did he hate that.

"Would you like some tea?" The offer was biting and before the man could answer the redhead was.

"Be nice Uryuu." The eldest, though this was partly and assumption on his part, didn't know if he was scolding his son or taking the offer for tea. Somehow that made him feel more like an intruder than before.

Without reply Uryuu was going to the modest separated kitchen his apartment afforded him. The lack of welcome did not surprise him in the boy's actions and he took no outward offense. Why would he be treated with sincere kindness instead of awkward, formal politeness.

"He sure doesn't like you much. Gotta be his dad hmm?"

"...yes." Maybe he had spoken of him to the shinigami, but not much.

"Shame." The shinigami was sitting already, zanpakutou set aside and looking like the most relaxed of the group. His eyes were looking over the older Quincy with curiosity versus the hostility of his own flesh and blood. "Maybe if you were a little nicer he would be too."

The suggestion surprised him not that it showed, he was stoic as ever. "Hn."

The short, uncertain response must have amused him though because he just shook his head and chuckled as if he had shared some kind of mild joke instead. "Really are a lot like him. Well back from when I first met him. Definitely can see the blood between you two." In more than one sense he was sure, but it was not stated to his ears. Somehow he knew it was in his mind, maybe it was the way he was looking at him as if he knew something he did not, enjoying his removed perception of the interaction between the estranged father and son.

If he were a lesser man he might have colored in shame but he did not. Ryuuken even moved himself to sit instead of standing in place awkwardly.

"Tryin' to make it less painful on you both."

That made his eyes widen noticeably, looking more fully at the younger looking man then. Why did he care about their comfort? Maybe he wasn't a horrible friend to his son if he was staying here and trying to play mediator even if he was clueless to just what he was getting himself into.

"Recommend you make it quick as possible though."

"I suppose you are right about that." The grin to his statement, the confirmation to the other, made him half wish he could strike him. He hated shinigami to look smug even if only slightly.

"Who'd ya want to talk to him about?"

He didn't see the harm in sharing the name. "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Eh Ichigo? What'd he do now?"

"I'm not certain, that's the reason I'm here. A...friend of mine if concerned about him."

"A friend huh? Friend who?" It was a light accusation, probably more teasing than serious.

"His father, Isshin."

"The crazy idiot?" He asked a bit dumbfounded at that, not quite able to fathom the pair in the same room together let alone being anything approaching friendly. Then again Uryuu was a bit on the rough side while friendly.

"Yes." If the shinigami thought that of Isshin he couldn't be all bad. "He found something that led him to believe that Ichigo might be in a bit of a situation."

Snorting the redhead shook his head. "Like that's new. Idiot always getting' into trouble."

Ryuuken hated to think it but this one might just be a bit tolerable, as far as shinigami went.

Uryuu was coming back out, setting down the mugs, a little less tense than when he'd left them. There was even one for Ryuuken. Looking between the two the teen was surprised to not see them glaring over the table at one another, but he had heard them speaking. It had lacked hostility which was strange, worrying even.

Not forgetting to be a polite host he settled himself down as well once he set their tea down for them, nodding easily to Renji's thanks. "This is Renji Abarai, a friend of mine and the vice-captain of the sixth division. Renji, this is my father, Ryuuken Ishida."

"Nice ta meet'cha." Abarai said and nodded to him as though he didn't notice the thicker atmosphere that had descended when the younger Ishida had rejoined them.

"Hn, likewise." Though it wasn't entirely true it was also not entirely false.

Seemed that his son was a bit more anxious than he had given him credit for originally because he fussed with his shirt cuff a moment before he was speaking once more.

"What did you want to talk about?" Uryuu wanted to be rid of him as quickly as possible.

So he wouldn't have the chance to ease into it. Disappointing but it was an odd topic in general. How it introduce it hit him for the moment as a little surreal. After all hadn't he told his son not to associate with shinigami yet he was going to ask about the romantic entanglements of one? Wasn't that a little bit of hypocrisy.

"He wanted to know somethin' about Ichigo." Abarai seemed to spare him some awkwardness.

"Kurosaki?" Uryuu was rather at a loss for that topic and a bit upset. His father was here to see him and it had nothing to do with his own son?

Nodding he tried to ignore the heat behind his son's narrow look. "Yes. His father was worried and bothered to say as much to me."

If anything the elder was only digging himself further into the hole he's stepped into. Somehow he could see his son piling the proverbial dirt right back on him as he kept digging down. Ryuuken did suppose that he deserved that.

Abarai looked between them and tried not to look amused as he was at the similarities and ignoring his own disappointment in them both. Honestly they were related couldn't they just have it out already and be done with it? Still he ad come to understand Quincy, or at least Ishida, enough to know they scarcely made things simple.

"What, pray tell, was his father so concerned about he saw fit to see you?"

It took a moment for him to push aside the tone his boy used, he didn't want to make a scene before their audience. "He wondered if his boy wasn't becoming involved with someone romantically that may or may not be suitable. He found something odd that inclined for there to be a relationship between his boy and an older man." It was as delicately as he could state it.

"Really?" The shinigami was all kinds of curious at that.

Uryuu wasn't nearly so amused and just appeared the part of an exasperated parent to see a child had finally grasped as concept. "About time."

Ryuuken and Renji seemed to be at a loss to what he meant, both looking at him in a quizzical sense wanting him to elaborate on his rather vague statement.

"Huh?" Renji looked like the physician felt, one eyebrow raised in confusion and a sort of confused frown marring his expression.

"Are you really that thick to not notice Abarai?" There was that amused look again, the one his boy directed at the shinigami. "I'd think you'd have at least picked up on something with the time you spend there compared to me."

"Still aren't makin' sense Uryuu." The lack of correction on his name gave Ryuuken a few worries about his own son. When did those two become that familiar?

Snorting and taking a sip of his tea in a pointed way that almost made the elder Quincy proud he regarded them. Ryuuken was out of their social loop so he didn't think he'd know but it surprised the teen that even Renji hadn't noticed it. The looks and the awkward moments between the lengthy odd comfortable relationship between them.

"Ichigo is quite interested in Urahara-san and entirely oblivious to just what's going on in his own head."

Abarai was choking on his tea and gaping after. Ryuuken on the other hand was looking quite surprised himself, yet not as blatantly obvious. Oh this spelled disaster for when his not-friend found out just what was going on with his son. Well it was a small blessing that it was Kurosaki's boy and not his own.

"How are you so certain of this?" The man had to ask, after all his son was still but a teenager he could misread a situation.

"I'm not blind." It was a touch huffy at being doubted.

"I didn't see it." Renji said simply, a little shocked still. "Explain. C'mon humor us."

Uryuu shook his head, a bit surprised at the lack of denial from his father to be lumped with a shinigami, but he decided he had nothing to lose by humoring them. In fact he was almost amused by the whole thing, yet still a bit burned for the cause of the elder's visit.

"Ichigo has trusted Urahara for almost as long as he's known him. You saw them during the war. How often were they back to back?"

Ryuuken had seen it some himself since he had not been able to ignore such a large conflict. Yet he had not truly seen much of the force that had massed the mismatched misfits. Quincy, shinigami and vizard all working together in a strange chaotic mishmash. Yet they had been their own force, filled with the experienced and powerful to the fledgling apprentices in comparison. Urahara had been the unofficial commander and Ichigo had not often been too far from his side. Their combination had been impressive, even in a way which Urahara could not approach with the talented Yoruichi at his side. That was saying something because that pair knew each other better than most, in such a familiar way it had created a vast array of rumors in their association that ranged from being star-crossed lovers to blood-relations.

"Dunno, a lot."

"They were very often seen together." Ryuuken supplied. "Many fought back to back though."

Uryuu nodded as if he had considered that because he had. "Yes well then and now are different. Ichigo visits the shop rather regularly. Just after the war he stayed there almost equally as he slept in his own bed at home."

Somewhere in his memory he could recall hearing that from Isshin as well. Odd, he didn't see it for himself but he could understand it. The bond forged between men when fighting was powerful. During a war you saw them as a lifeline and you clung to it after while waiting for normalcy to return. It was still up to debate of how one could read that.

"Uh yeah but I stuck around you too after it was all done with." Something that Byakuya had been oddly understanding off, but he was kind of distracted too about watching over Rukia. Neither had begrudged the other of their protective feelings over the people close to them, it had bred an understanding instead. His captain didn't mind his visits to the human world like this one so long as his work was done.

"Yes well..." Clearing his throat he looking at his father for some reason instead of the vice-captain. "Even after he was more himself again those visits didn't stop. Ichigo still goes there now. Have you seen the way he interacts with them all?"

Ryuuken couldn't claim that he knew because he had seen nothing. It wasn't a statement directed at him, however, because the shinigami was answering not long after.

"Yeah, of course I have." Pausing to think about it Renji looked like he saw the light finally. "Oh man, how'd I miss that?"

Looking pleased his son nodded and sipped at his tea again.

"Do share." Ryuuken muttered feeling as out of the loop as he was.

Waving a hand his son seemed to be charging the redhead with explaining in his place, as if he'd pointed it all out enough for them already.

"Well it's like he just sort of fits. They can do all kinds of things without talking or giving signals. Like it's natural as breathin' sometimes. He 'n Urahara move around each other like they know what's happening before it happens. Not just Urahara neither, it's the kids too."

Kisuke and the boy were that close? He'd welcomed the boy that closely into his rather close-knit group?

"Ichigo 'n Urahara might argue and snip but more like they're messin' around than anything. They used to fight, er Ichigo did, but it changed around. They're just different with each other I guess ya could say."

Uryuu was sitting his eyes closed as if that really was all that needed to be said. There could be more said but there was enough in all that to be seen.

Ryuuken had to resist hitting his head against the low table. He knew getting involved in all this was a very bad idea. Just one hell of headache for him. Looking between the pair again his son's posture hadn't changed but Abarai appeared to be thinking about all their conversation.

"You said that Ichigo was oblivious to it?" The doctor managed to make himself ask.

"Mm, I did. He doesn't see it as that. He just feels comfortable."

"Maybe he knows and likes it Uryuu." Renji argued simply and took a sip of his own tea.

Opening his eyes and shaking his head he gave a sigh. "No it's Ichigo, he'd be acting awkward if he knew. You know how he is."

Snorting Renji nodded in agreement to that. Ryuuken wondered just what that really meant but he had a feeling that Isshin would know. The boy he didn't know very well himself, only having ever met him in passing during the war. In fact he was quite sure if Ichigo had to he couldn't name him if he saw him again. It had been nothing but required at the time to know ally from enemy. Then the narrow focus that war permitted they had seen little of one another while there had been any enemies in rage of their attacks. Ryuuken's natural distant nature had not aided their relationship but it was never meant to.

And for all the answers he might have gotten in regard to Isshin's son he was left with questions about his own. Ones that he couldn't voice to him. Ryuuken looked down at his untouched tea and wondered to himself just what was going on.

"Hey ya okay there Pops?"

Choking a bit at the nickname he looked up at the shinigami as if he'd lost his mind. "What?"

"Asked is ya were alright there. Been lookin' at that tea for a little bit more."

Daring a glance he saw his son looking rather unreadable, eyes on him oddly enough. Uryuu seemed to be unsure of what to do or say. The advice to make it a quick visit hit him again and he was thinking that was just what he ought to do.

"I am fine. I should be going." If the pair wanted to argue him they didn't show it. Rising to his feet he looked to his son. "Thank you for the hospitality." For as distant as they had been things has been a bit more comfortable for the buffer that the shinigami provided. Already heading to the door on his own he noticed his son rising up to walk him to the door. It was politeness again that likely led him to do as much. Somehow he wished he could have shown himself out, then he might not feel the intense need to conceal the strange array of emotions present in his person. Instead the boy was a good host, even to him.

Shoes slipped on and glasses pushed up, without need so much as habit, he nodded to the boy without fully looking at him. "Good to see you doing well. Look after yourself." A part of him wished to say his son's name but he felt irregularly warm to him already for the space between them that time had done no good to ease.

Slipping out with barely a glance back he didn't notice his son's surprise or even really hear the goodbye he gave in a strained tone.

Feeling entirely foolish instead he descended down and out to the street he headed his own way home in the warm night. Darkness had fully descended while he was visiting with his son. He would call Isshin to talk to him tonight about what he'd heard though he thought that might not be best. Ichigo himself was outside his understanding of his relationship regarding. Ryuuken trusted his son's analysis on the subject so he didn't see the need to argue if it was true. Instead he was thinking that the man ought to keep his nose out lest he make things worse but it was never Isshin's style to keep out. Could be a small kindness of him to lead the man in an entirely incorrect direction to give Ichigo time to make his own decisions. Which would be best?

The answer was not so easily reached by his mind which was still going in circles over his strange time with Uryuu and that shinigami, Renji Abarai. The doctor didn't know what to make of those two. They had a bond that easily could have been due to their time together during the war. They were comfortable and familiar. Minutely a part of him was envious of that man's relationship with his son.

What worried him was just how close those two were. While not a wonderful father he could not help but to feel the same protective nature over his son that he had felt when he was still his son. He was not an open man but he still felt and bled like any other, just not so well openly as another would.

His mind was made up then. He'd lead Isshin away from Urahara and let Ichigo have some time to try and sort himself out. Least he could do and he supposed he owed it to the boy for looking after his son in his own strange way. He'd tell Isshin he had his own son to worry about to get out of being dragged into the later issuing chaos.

The future was a mystery and he'd have to see what happened. However, a drink before bed sounded like an excellent idea to him.


	4. Telephone

**Telephone**

He was irritated. While his secretary may have called that a grave understatement it was accurate in his humble opinion. Since he did know himself fairly well Ryuuken would stick by his own opinion of his mood. Still irritation was no new matter to him so it should not hinder him from business, yet here he was tapped a pen against his desk. The tap was regular, clicking again and again evenly as one of the few sounds other than the hum of the fan to cool down his work computer. There was a distinct lack of shuffling paper or a ringing phone, or even his own sharp orders, as a sign of how far off his mind was.

It was that shinigami's fault, plain and simple. The redheaded idiot who had acted like he belonged beside his son. Be he a vice-captain or not that didn't mean the elder Ishida approved in the least. Had it just been a lingering kinsmanship borne from the war then it would have been a non-issue, yet it felt like more to him. The brief glimpse he had had made him feel so uncomfortable, like an intruder upon a familiar routine for those two. Abarai, a part of him did cringe at the memory of him, had felt threatening to him. Not that the shinigami had offered any fight, or even indicated any kind of ill will for him, but that he seemed to have rooted himself into Uryuu's life so easily. A part of him told him he was jealous, another merely reminded him he was the boy's father and worried for him to be involved with someone of such brash nature. After all he knew what shinigami did and how dangerous it was, but Uryuu was such a stubborn boy he would hardly take any words of caution as anything but fodder for fight.

Thinking about all of it once more did nothing but make his hand twitch to ruin the tap of his pen. Really he was surprised the thoughts didn't lead him to drive the implement into his desk. It was still certainly possible to happen because frankly his nerves were not calming in the least.

The ring of his desk phone startled him enough that the physician was forced to push his glasses back up where they had slipped slightly from the bridge of his nose. Even as he adjusted his eye-wear his other hand was on the handset of the phone to answer. So much for not provoking his nerves further in their agitated state, but it had been a seemingly impossibility from the get-go.

"Ishida." The address a bit more flat than usual.

"Don't sound so happy to be at your place of work. Cheer up Ryuuken, don't you help people save lives?" The bubbly tone that Isshin used just made his right eye twitch. This was the last thing he needed right now.

"Caller-ID announced who was calling. Seemed fitting to be bereft of any joy to hear your voice."

"Zing, I felt that one." Still Kurosaki just laughed at the predictable bristling. "So I've been thinking about this whole thing with Ichigo and I'm starting to really think he had to write it. I mean really he doesn't look freaked out and it isn't like the kid is the more level-headed around. If there was something wrong he'd be showing it, lousy lair and all."

"Seems he didn't inherit your ability then." Ryuuken muttered dryly. "If you figured it out then don't call, idiot."

"But I wanted your opinion." Had he been there in person Ryuuken would have both struck him and likely seen the grown man pout at him, bottom lip protruding in a very exaggerated manner to show his discontent in a means that would border on questionable disfigurement.

"My opinion is to deal with it yourself."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. "What's got your panties in such a twist?"

Ryuuken gritted his teeth and began to count back from ten slowly.

"Someone spit in your coffee?"

"No."

He'd made it to seven at least before the fool on the other end decided it was wise to prod.

"Maybe you just need to get laid. Mean it's been awhile hasn't it?"

That was enough to nearly make him choke on his own tongue. "What does that have to do with anything!"

"Easy, easy Ishida. Forget you used to be so excitable." A hearty laugh as sign the reaction had been intended. "Don't usually make it this easy to bother you. What's up?"

And that was true. Ryuuken Ishida did pride himself on being able to remain calm and untouched under duress. Still all of this was coming back to his brilliant logic that shinigami were creatures of insanely bad fortune and nothing but trouble. Sadly they were also quite like insects and once there was an infestation they were difficult to be rid of.

"C'mon I know something is going on in that snowy head of yours."

Idly he reminded himself when he saw Isshin next to shoot him. Somewhere painful seemed like the perfect choice to him.

"Nothing."

"Aw, don't lie now or I'll just have to come and see you in person."

"Do it and die, Kurosaki."

"Don't be like that." It was whined, of all things.

Ryuuken lifted his free hand and pinched at the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. If only there were a way to kill someone over a phone.

Then again he did have nothing to lose. "Renji Abarai."

"Eh?" If nothing else his not-friend's confusion gave him a slight sense of satisfaction to have ended his inane teasing.

"Renji Abarai, a shinigami and the vice-captain of the sixth I believe."

"Yeah I know who you're talking about but what the heck do you want to do with pineapple?"

Pulling the phone away from his head the doctor stared at it a moment. Pineapple? Well shinigami were strange he shouldn't be shocked by the random fruit references now should he?

"He is...friendly with Uryuu." A painful statement.

"Yeah they got pretty close around the time the kids all went to Hueco Mundo. Least that's what I've been told. Something about fighting together since then. Why is this coming up now?"

"I had the..good luck to meet the boy."

"So you met Renji and noticed Uryuu made himself a friend. What's so bad about that?"

Sighing the white-haired man leant back against the desk chair. "It is not bad, I am just concerned. He is still my son and shinigami are brash fools. I need not have him dragged into another war over their weak abilities to gauge those around them." It was a touch more defensive than he wanted it to sound but Kurosaki was used to him in this sense.

"Kid had a sense of honor, they were his friends and he finishes what he starts. You two are pretty alike in that sense at least."

Was the second time in the span of twenty-four hours he was hearing about the similarities between his son and himself. Somehow he couldn't see it but Uryuu was still nothing but a boy in his eyes that couldn't be capable of things like himself. Maybe that was just his reluctance to move forward from a time that still held some fondness for him. Yet it was only the image of something passed in the end.

"They're good for each other."

Something in Ryuuken tightened at such a statement. "Oh?"

The sound was soft, strained. If Isshin had noticed the oddity in the others voice he did not address it. "Yeah. Seen them a few times together because of Ichigo. Sure Renji is like Ichigo that he doesn't always think things through but he's got a lot of fire. Uryuu on the other hand is all logic and careful, almost detached. Balances out."

Sounded like it would be good many things could appear to be more attractive than they truly were.

"Ryuuken, don't worry about that one so much. Renji'd do a hell of a lot for Uryuu and I'm pretty sure it's mutual no matter what they might say to anyone else."

The knot in his stomach still didn't loosen just yet. "Are they...?"

Didn't seem that the whole question needed to be stated to be understood. "Dunno. Maybe. Can't say it would bad if that were the case."

"But a shinigami can't-"

"Ryuuken you're not in a position to decide what your son needs. Neither am I."

Grudgingly he had to admit that was true. His son was not the eager child he liked to remember. His son was on his way to becoming a man and so fiercely determined to be independent that he was a stranger to him. Yet at the same time it brought back his decision the previous night on what to do about Ichigo.

"Yes, that's true." Now the tight feeling was slowly starting to dissipate. Silently the older Ishida bid the idiot on the other end to understand he was thankful because such words were painful for him.

"So anyway you know why I called, what do you think?"

"Didn't you just give me the answer yourself? Ichigo can make up his own mind, he doesn't need his father making it for him." Whether it was what the man wanted to hear or not it was the truth. Neither of them liked the fact that as parents they had to left some things be but they would not be around forever. Some might think it was in poor taste for him to withhold what Uryuu had told him of Ichigo's and Urahara's relationship, but he stood by it being none of his business to interfere.

"If you don't think he'd in any kind of danger leave it alone Isshin."

"You're such a pain Ishida." Huffed it was a sign he'd heard but not liked the verdict. Also was hardly a guarantee he'd listen to a damned thing.

"One must give what they get. Don't ask about this nonsense again, I've got my own son to worry about."

"How cute Ryuu-kun is worried about his widdle bab-" Whatever Isshin had been planning to say didn't reach his ears, the handset dropped back onto the cradle of the phone.

It was done. The chance he'd wanted to give was there and had not been painful for himself. There was only so much meddling he could do either way without it ending very badly. Besides it wasn't a lie he still had his own boy to worry about. Frankly Ryuuken didn't trust shinigami as far as they could be thrown, so he had a bit more thinking to do before he came to any kind of conclusion about any of them. Particularly that Renji Abarai, because he'd be damned if he letting someone hurt his son like he had.

* * *

It was like a bad luck charm he'd decided by now. After all every time he tried to take another look at the damn thing something popped up. His sisters, Kon or even Rukia that one time had been a close call. Ichigo was really starting to think he should return it because fate was telling him the longer it was in his possession that more likely he was to be caught and humiliated brutally.

The simple solution was just to hand it over and pretend like he didn't have a clue what it was. Urahara was a tricky pain in the ass though and would likely drag something out of him he would never volunteer. So he immediately dismissed that idea. The next had been to lie but that was dropped quickly since he was told so often he couldn't lie to save his life. The next group to go had involved burning it, throwing it away and even passing it off to Kon to take the blame. While the one with Kon had potential the others had seemed a little cruel. Piece of smut or not it was still someone's work no matter how he looked at it and destroying it would be kind of mean. Part of him said it was still an option but really had it been something he took the time to write he'd be pissed if someone just up and burned it on him.

Namely meaning he was kind of stuck with it.

Plus, much as he hated to admit, he was still sort of curious. Having never really been exposed to massive amounts of material for more than short periods of time Ichigo couldn't help wanting to take a closer look. It wasn't like most of the stuff he had shoved in his face by his father or his classmates whispered over. Being the kind of guy he was he was rather removed from this kind of thing usually but if there was such a hype about it he wouldn't mind understanding what the deal was over it.

Still standing up from his bed he went over to go and lock the door. He was alone in his room, Kon was being held hostage by Yuzu, and now seemed a good a time as any to give it a try. The fact he had to lock his door alone made him feel a bit odd. Sure he kept secrets from his family but this was different. Being a shingiami was something he had to do this was something for himself alone, oddly he felt a little selfish.

Opening up the drawer he lifted up the old school papers to pull out the hidden manuscript. Part of him had to resist looking over his shoulder to make sure it was clear. So he may have closed the drawer with a little more force than he had to, wasn't a big deal. Then he didn't even know where he ought to sit and read the thing. The desk seemed kind of retarded, his bed seemed weird too. Instead he settled on sitting on the floor, leaning back against his bed looking to the packet of pages in his hands.

"This is stupid..." The teen mumbled to himself but still opened to the first page to see just what was so great about all this crap.

Just as he was about to read there was a jiggle of his room's doorknob, slight at first then far more exaggerated. Whoever was doing it wasn't taking the hint that it was locked. At first it was kind of funny someone would be so stupid as to fight with a door, and to be losing, but as it continued it got annoying. It seemed they had progressed to the second step in their infiltration though and pounded on his door.

"What!" Ichigo couldn't help being irritated and offered the harmless papers in his hands a dark look as if they had caused this.

"Ichigo there's something wrong with your door."

Resisting the urge to throw the manuscript at the door her jumped to his feet. One of the last people he ever wanted to see him with this thing was Rukia who obviously wanted into his room for some reason quite badly. Panicking for a moment looking from side to side he looked for a place to hide it.

"It's locked, take the hint!"

There was a pause on the other side. "You don't have some poor innocent girl in there do you?"

Ichigo twitched and gritted his teeth. "I do not! Stop saying stupid things like that you idiot!"

"Then why are you so defensive? And what is your door locked?"

Kicking himself for his reaction the redhead looked around for a way to hide the stolen material in his hand. She was trying the door again to force it, and that little monster could too, and he did the only thing he could think to quickly. Lifting up his mattress he tossed the papers under and let it down again before going to the door.

Opening the door he looked down at the petite girl with a deep scowl. "Hell do you want?"

Merely looking curious she offered the phone to him. "Urahara is calling for you. Something about fulfilling a promise."

Against his will his ears felt warm and tinged red. All the same he snatched the phone from the girl and grumbled a very insincere thanks. Hopefully she didn't know what he'd promised to do to keep him out of her insistence of a beach day, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Yeah, what do you want Urahara?" Sure he sounded irritated but hey he was.

"My my Kurosaki-kun aren't you in pleasant spirits today. I was calling because you ran off before I could manage to extract payment from you for that little, tiny favor."

Twitching and watching Rukia wander over to his bed and sit he ignored the urge he had to tell her to get off. It was just paranoia to think she'd find what he'd hidden. There was no way she'd feel just a bit of a bump through the whole mattress and poke her annoying little nose where it didn't belong.

"So if you could come to the shop and we can get it over with I would appreciate it."

Ichigo was tempted to tell him to forget it but he did agree and he didn't want to welch on the guy either. Still there was the concern that if he did go he'd be questioned about his very hasty escape last time he was at the shop. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, somehow he ended up there far too often.

"Yeah I'll come over. Just give me like ten minutes to get rid of a pest." He muttered.

"Perfect, perfect. See you shortly Kurosaki-kun."

"Right." Hanging up before Urahara could say anything else he shook his head. "Get out, I'm leaving."

The small shinigami didn't move from where she sat. "I'm comfortable, I'm staying. Besides your father doesn't mind me being here."

"Yeah but get out of my room. You do weird shit when I'm not here and Kon can't even keep an eye on you."

"This has to do with why you locked the door doesn't it?"

Freezing he just turned and started to head out of his room. If he didn't answer he couldn't incriminate himself anymore than he already had. Yet the manuscript persisted to pester him where it lay waiting even as he descended the stairs grumbling about pain in the ass meddling shinigami the whole way. On top of his paranoia he was going to have to deal with manual labor for who knew how long because the shopkeeper could be a slave driver when he wanted to. Maybe he ought to burn that thing after all with what it was doing to what little luck he had.

Unbeknownst to the redhead, however, his petite pest was currently looking around the room for anything incriminating. It wasn't until she rose up from the bed she noticed one end of the cover tucked under mattress. Curious she pried it up with both hands to find something interesting, a packet of papers. With a bit of maneuvering on her part to support the mattress she managed to snatch it.

Dropping back onto the bed to sit she decided it was worth looking at if it was stuffed under an embarrassed teenage boy's bed of all things. She would not discover until later she had stuck gold.


End file.
